Button



(No Model.)

M. D. SHIPMAN.

BUTTON.

N0. 357,237. Patented Feb. 8, 1887.

avwawtoz l/vi tme may NITED STAT S PATENT much.

MADISON D. SHIPMAN, DE KALB, ILLINOIS.

BUTTON..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,237, dated February 8, 1887.

Application filed May 5, 1886.

.To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MAnIsoN D. SHIPMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at De Kalb, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Buttons, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, in which Figural shows a vertical central section of a button constructed according to myimpro vement and fastened to the material; Fig. 2, a reverse plan of the same; Fig. 3, a vertical section of a stud, also fastenedto the. material. Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are similar sections'of modifications of the stud, onlythat shown in Fig. being attached to the material. Fig. 8 is a similar section showing a head of a shirtstud or cuftbutton. Fig.9 is a section of the head and stud, shown attachedto the material and united, as in use. Fig. 10 represents a vertical section of a modified form of buttonhead attached to the material; and Fig. 11 repstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter more particularly described, and then pointed out in the claims.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, which are all made on an enlarged scale the better to illustrate the various parts, A represents the head, provided with the flange a and tube a, the lower end of the latter having,

.preferably,'a notch or cut-away portion on one side, as shown in Fig. 1.

this tube is a spring, B, of the form shown more particularly in Fig. 2, having one end curved to embrace the tube and the other end crossing the lower end of the same. I

At 0 is shown the base of the button proper, which may be provided with an eyelet, 0, either formed separately or integral therewith.

5o This eyelet is passed through the material and through a washer, D, and is secured by spread- Surrounding Serial No. 201,146. (No model.)

ing the lower edge of the eyelet over said washer, and thus the head is securely fastened to the material.

The stud which I prefer to use with the above head consists of a tubular stem, E, and a bulb, F, the latter having an outwardlyspreading base, f, which may either be formed in one piece with the bulb, as in Fig. 3, or it may be made separately therefrom, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. To secure this stud to the fabric, the lower end of the tube E is spread one is employed,) in the usual manner of fastening such articles to the glove or other material on which it is to be used, as shown in Fig. 3.

When in use, the tube a is forced down over the bulb F, and the spring 13 expands to allow the larger part of the bulb to pass, and then contracts so as to lie in the reduced portion of the stud or the neck of the bulb,by which means the two parts of the button are fastened together sufficiently secure for all ordinary purposes, but in such a manner that the two portions may be readily separated when desired.

I do not limit myself to the precise form of bulb, as the neck may be varied considerably in formfrom that shown, so that instead of having a wide shallow groove, as shown, it may have a narrow one, which may be comparatively of considerably greater depth.

In Figs. 5 and 7 I have shown the spreading base as made separately from the bulb proper. In the former the base forms a cone, which slips up under the bulb; but in the latter it is simply awasher having an aperture that fits the stem.

In Fig. 6 I show the bulb of the stud and its stem as made solid, which may sometimes be found convenient; but I prefer the tubular bulb and stem on account of its lightness and greater ease of manufacture.

I sometimes make the hollow bulb and stem also in separate pieces, asshown in Fig. 4, in which the bulb is provided with a recess near its top, in which sits the head of a hollow stem. It is of course obvious that the solid stem shown in Fig. 6 may be used with this form of bulb, or that a hollow stem may be employed with the solid bulb shown in Fig. 6.

- over the edge ofthe orificein a washer, G, (when While I prefer the use of an eyelet with the base 0, the eyelet may be dispensed with, as shown in Fig. 8, in which form my improvement maybe usefully employed as a shirt-stud or cuff-button, and preferably in connection with the form of stud shown in Fig. 7. I also in some cases dispense with the fiangea,which may be done by turning up the edge of the base so as to form a vertical flange, as shown at a in Fig. 8, whereby, when the base and cap are forced together, the two may be securely held by friction or other means of fastening.

I do not limit myself to the precise form of tube shown at a in Figs. 1 and 8, as the cutaway portion may be in the form of a slot or perloration in the side, into which the end of the spring may pass, as shown in Fig. 10.

Iprefer, however, that the spring shall work between the end of the tube and the eyelet for the following reasons: Vhen the tube is made veryshort, as it can be when the spring passes between the end of the tube and the eyelet, it is easier made than when it is longer, and the button-head can be made much flatter. Another reason is that the bottom of the tube can be cut out at the same time that the tube is punched; but if the tube has to be slotted or perforated, as in Fig. 10, it must be done by a distinct operation, and besides this cheapening in the manufacture of the parts, the different pieces are more easily assembled, for it is quite a tedious operation to force the spring down in the slot in setting the spring in the button shown in Fig. 10, butin the other plan the springs have simply to be laid over the end of the tube.

In some cases I prefer to dispense with the washer G, which I do by clinching the lower end of the tube directly upon the fabric or article upon which the stud is to be attached, and I prefer in this case that the tube shall be cut comparatively short, so as to draw the material to which it is fastened into the flaring base, thus keeping the roughened or burred end of the tube out of contact with the skin or fabric over which it is worn.

Vhen referring to the base and eyelet in the following claims, I intend to be understood as referring to the base and eyelet, whether they are made separately or both in one piece.

\Vhat I claim as new is 1. In a separable button, and in combination with a stud having one portion of smaller diameter than the head of the same, a buttonhead having an 'inclosing-case consisting of two parts, as the cap A and the base 0, permanently connected by a flange formed on one of said parts, a depending tube formed integral with said cap and separately from the base, and a spring working in a cut-away portion or notch in said tube, substantially as described.

2. In a separable button, and in combination with a stud having one portion of smaller diameter than the head of the same, a buttonhead comprising a cap, A, having a turnedunder flange, a, and a tube, a, having a notch or cut-away portion, all formed integral, a

spring working in said notch or cut-away por' tion, and a base having an aperture for the passage of the stud, substantially as described.

3. In a separable button, and in combination with a stud having one portion of smaller diameter than the head of the same, a buttonhead consisting of a cap, A, having a turnedunder flange, a, and perforated or cut-away tube it, all formed integral and provided with a spring-fastening made separately from the tube, and means, as the base 0 and eyelet c, for securing said cap to the material, substantially as described.

4. In a separable button, the combination, with a head having a spring-fastening constructed to contract inwardly, of a stud consisting of a bulb, and a central stem adapted to pass through the material from one side and be clinched on the side opposite to that from which it passed through, substantially as described.

5. In a separable button, the combination, with a head having a spring-hastening constructed to contract inwardly, of a stud provided with a hollow bulb having a neck and expanded base, and a central stem adapted to pass through the material and be clinched on the opposite side thereof, substantially as described.

6. In a separable button, the combination, with a head having a spring-fitstening constructed to contract inwardly, of a stud provided with a hollow bulb having a neck and expanded base, and a central tubular stem adapted to pass through the material and be clinched on the opposite side thereof, substantially as described.

7. In a separable button, the combination, with a stud having one portion of smaller diameter than the head of the same, of a buttonhead consisting of a base, 0, and eyelet c, a cap, A, having turned-under flange a, and a tube, at, having a portion of its lower edge removed, and a spring, 13, having one end extending between the end of the tube a and the eyelet a, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my'signatnre, in

presence of two witnesses, this 1st day of May,

MADISON D. SHIPMAN. Witnesses:

D. W. GARRETSON, GHAizLEs E. BRADT. 

